KOLKATA — Maoists have vehemently criticised a landmark meeting between Trinamool Congress supremo Mamata Banerjee and Marxist elder statesman Jyoti Basu to sort out nagging differences between the opposition and the government over the state's controversial industrialisation programme.

"The Basu-Mamata jugalbandi left key issues in Singur and Nandigram untouched", the CPM (Liberation) state secretary Kartick Pal said.

"The people of Nandigram and Singur are not bothered about who is holding meetings with whom. They want to know when those responsible for the March 14 genocide (in Nandigram) will be punished", he added.

Stating that violence again erupted in Nandigram since Sunday night, he said people there would not accept "any decision taken at any peace meeting" unless Chief Minister, Buddhadev Bhattacharya, and local CPI(M) MP Lakshman Seth resigned.

Alleging that the state government had forcibly taken over land for the Tata Motors project in Singur under the Land Acquisition Act, he said "owners of 287 acre do not want to hand over their land. Besides 3,500 agricultural workers would be affected. They will not accept any meeting unless the land is returned to them."

Unless the government revised its land acquisition policy, any discussion on Singur would be fruitless, he said. Pal said his party would organise demonstrations in front of the offices of all district magistrates on June 26 to oppose the state government's policy and to demand the resignation of the chief minister.